Frame tracer web browser component

ABSTRACT

An internet browser software component facilitates online submission of prescription eyeglass orders by receiving frame trace data sent to a computer by a frame tracer and embedding it in an order form prepared for submission over the internet. The browser software component may interpret data sent to any peripheral port on the computer, including serial (COM) ports, Universal Serial Bus (USB) ports, and Ethernet ports. The browser software component embeds the frame trace so that it is sent in the same logical packet as the rest of the prescription order. The browser software component may also create a graphical representation of the frame trace and display it in a graphical user interface containing the order form so that the prescription order may be easily reviewed for accuracy before submitting it to be processed.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of co-pending provisionalapplication No. 60/889,898 filed Feb. 14, 2007.

FIELD OF INVENTION

This invention relates to systems and methods for ordering prescriptioneyeglasses. This invention relates particularly to the software andmethod for ordering prescription eyeglasses over the internet by usingan internet browser-based component to connect lab equipment such as aframe tracer to a web-based prescription lens order.

BACKGROUND

Frame tracers are computerized devices that measure the parameters of aneyeglass frame. Because each eyeglass frame can be unique in minutedetail, the frame data measured from a frame tracer is critical tocreate exact results when manufacturing a pair of eyeglasses. A typicalframe tracer will measure from 100 to as many as 1500 or more datapoints that describe the lens area of the frame, and many measure theright and left eyes independently. Additionally, the frame tracermeasures other values including the curve of the frame and the distancebetween the right and left lenses. In this specification, the collectionof measurements taken by a frame tracer of a single frame is referred toas a frame trace.

Conventionally, two separate sets of data are required to makeprescription eyewear: the frame trace and the prescription. Theprescription contains at least a patient's vision correction needs, andmay also contain his name or other identifier, date of prescription,lens material or other information, As used herein, the prescriptionincludes all data required to make prescription eyewear excluding theframe trace. In the conventional preparation of prescription eyewear,the eye care professional, such as an optometrist, ophthalmologist,optician, or an employee of one, generates the prescription order, whichis then transmitted to the lens manufacturing laboratory. The eye careprofessional also sends the frame to the laboratory, either separatelyor with the prescription order. The laboratory associates the frame withthe proper prescription order, measures the frame trace, and producelenses to fit. The laboratory production process traditionally takesabout seven days, mostly due to wait times for frame delivery and theorder-association procedure.

More eyecare professionals are using frame tracers at their businesslocations instead of sending the frame to the lens manufacturer. It istherefore increasingly desirable to store the frame trace on an officecomputer in order to submit the data to a laboratory for creation of thelenses. However, the volume and type of data contained in one frametrace makes it prohibitive to manually process the data by retyping orre-entering the data into a computerized order. To solve this problem,certain frame tracers can be connected to the office computer so thatthe frame trace can be transferred to the computer and stored on it.Unfortunately, however, due to format incompatibilities, this leaves theproblem of storing the frame trace and prescription data in separatefiles. If transmitted to the lens maker, two files have to betransmitted or appended together, similar to the conventionalorder-association procedure. It would be desirable to integrate theframe trace with the prescription order.

The transmission of the frame trace to the office computer, however,does facilitate online ordering. An eye care professional enters theprescription order data into an internet-based form, associates theframe trace file to the form, and transmits the order either directly tothe order recipient, namely the lens manufacturing laboratory's computersystem or to a third party value-added service provider such asVisionWeb, www.visionweb.com, and Eyefinity, www.eyefinity.com. See FIG.1 which shows a prior art example of importing a frame trace file sothat the frame trace data are associated with the prescription order.Benefits to the eyecare professional include faster processing of theorder because it is entered one time and the frame does not need to bedelivered before processing and because error-checking and correctingare done at the time the order is entered. This can reduce theprocessing time to one or two days.

However, this system of online ordering is cumbersome: it requires astandalone program to receive the frame trace from the frame tracer,both the eyecare professional and the laboratory must manually matchframe trace files to prescription orders, and an extensive file namingconvention must be developed in order to maintain the proper associationof frame traces to prescription orders. It would be advantageous tofacilitate more direct communication between an internet browser and theframe tracer, so that frame trace information can be inserted directlyinto an online order.

Unfortunately, due to a design philosophy regarding security, aninternet browser does not inherently access all resources of the officecomputer, such as devices that are peripherally connected to thecomputer via the computer's serial ports (COM ports). Frame tracerstypically use the serial ports to connect to the host computer program.Because an internet browser does not access the serial ports directly,the internet browser cannot communicate with a frame tracer. It would bedesirable to effectively connect the browser to the serial ports andthereby receive a frame trace.

Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide a method forordering prescription eyeglasses via the internet. It is a furtherobject to provide an internet browser software component that cancommunicate with a frame tracer connected to a computer and receiveframe traces from the frame tracer. Another object of this invention isto provide an eyeglass ordering system that utilizes the internetbrowser software component.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention increases the efficiency of the prescriptioneyeglass ordering process by allowing an eyecare professional to attachlab equipment such as a frame tracer to the eyecare professional'scomputer by any means, including a serial (COM port) cable, and toreceive frame traces generated by the frame tracer directly into anorder form for submission in an internet browser application. In thismanner the parts of a prescription eyeglass order are seamlesslyintegrated and are transmitted to the order recipient simultaneously.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a screen shot of the prior art showing attaching a frame traceto an online order.

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary system for generating and processing aprescription eyeglass order as embodied in the invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of a browser software component forreceiving, translating, and embedding frame traces.

FIG. 4 is an online order form of the present invention incorporatingprescription data and frame trace data.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring to FIG. 2, an exemplary eyeglass ordering system generates acomplete prescription eyeglass order that can be sent to a lensmanufacturing laboratory or a third party value-added service provider.The eyecare professional inserts a pair of eyeglass frames into theframe tracer 11 and activates it. The frame tracer 11 creates a frametrace and transmits it to the host computer 12 through the connection atserial port 21. The browser software component 20 receives the frametrace from the serial port 21, and translates it into perceivable datarepresented by the frame trace display 15. The browser softwarecomponent 20 then embeds the frame trace display 15 in a graphical userinterface (“GUI”) 14, which is perceivable in the internet browserwindow 13. The eyecare professional then reviews the prescriptioneyeglass order displayed in the GUI 14 for accuracy and transmits theprescription eyeglass order via internet to a lens manufacturinglaboratory or a third party value-added service provider.

The eyeglass ordering system may have components that are locatedproximate to or remote from each other. In the preferred embodiment, thecomponents of the eyeglass ordering system are located in the office ofan eyecare professional, allowing the eyecare professional to exert fullcontrol over generation of the order. A frame tracer 11 connects to ahost computer 12 at an available peripheral port such as a serial port21. The frame tracer 11 can be any commercially available frame tracer,such as the LT-900 Remote Tracer by Santinelli® or the Optronics® 4TFrame Tracer. The host computer 12 can be any personal computer or othercomputing system which comprises components capable of establishing aninternet connection, implementing an internet browser program, andconnecting to the frame tracer 11. In the preferred embodiment, the hostcomputer 12 is a personal computing system that includes a monitor, aninternet connection, and at least one serial port.

The connection between the frame tracer 11 and the host computer 12 canbe made by any means for connecting peripheral components to a personalcomputer, including Universal Serial Bus (USB), serial (COM port)connections, ethernet or other network connections, or intermediateconnectors such as a wired or wireless TWAIN server. In the preferredembodiment, the host computer 12 includes a serial port 21 and the frametracer 11 connects to the serial port 21 with a serial cable 22. Thisconnection allows the frame tracer 11 to transmit frame traces to thehost computer 12 for processing.

Referring to FIG. 3, the browser software component 20 comprisescomputer program code devices that allow the browser software component20 to communicate with the frame tracer 11 and transfer data to theinternet browser and subsequently to the GUI 14. In the preferredembodiment, the browser software component 20 accesses a frame tracethat has been provided by the frame tracer 11 to the serial port 21,translates the information into a format that can be perceived whendisplayed in the GUI 14, and transmits the frame trace to the GUI 14displayed within the internet browser window 13. The GUI 14 thengenerates the frame trace display 15. As seen in FIGS. 2 and 4, theframe trace display 15 is a graphical representation of the shape of theframe. Preferably the data from the frame tracer or other lab equipmentis normalized so that the data from all lab equipment are produced inthe same format. The frame trace is thereby incorporated into theeyeglass prescription order and can be reviewed by the eyecareprofessional before order submission.

The browser software component 20 transfers the frame trace to the GUI14 displayed within the internet browser window 13 using a communicationmethod that allows browser-hosted plug-ins or components to communicatewith the web browser, such as Java, JavaScript, LiveConnect, or anysimilar communication method. In the preferred embodiment, the browsersoftware component 20 utilizes LiveConnect to transfer the frame trace.The GUI 14 contains a form which is implemented using an internetapplication programming language such as hypertext markup language(HTML), hypertext preprocessor (PHP), Java, JavaScript, or Perl. Whenthe frame trace arrives at the GUI 14 the browser software component 20embeds it in the form and creates a frame trace display 15 that can beperceived by the eyecare professional. The browser software component 20is designed to overcome the limitations of internet browsers and otherbrowser software components that cannot communicate with peripheralconnections. The browser software component 20 can be created using anynow known or later developed software component design technology thatcan communicate with peripheral connections, including Microsoft®ActiveX® or other Component Object Model designers, Microsoft® .NET®,Apple® Dashboard®, and NPAPI (Netscape® Plug-in Application ProgrammingInterface). In the preferred embodiment, the browser software component20 is an ActiveX control. The browser software component 20 embeds theframe trace data in the GUI 14, so that the frame trace data is enclosedwithin the same data packet as the rest of the prescription order datawhen the order is submitted.

The host computer 12 contains software necessary to display an internetbrowser window 13 at a user's request. The internet browser called bythe user may be any computer program capable of interpreting one or morefile transfer protocols now known, such as HTTP, HTTPS, or FTP, or laterdeveloped; for example, the internet browser may be Microsoft InternetExplorer, Mozilla Firefox, Netscape, Apple's Safari, or Opera. In thepreferred embodiment, the internet browser window 13 is generated byMicrosoft Internet Explorer. Referring to FIG. 4, the internet browserwindow 13 displays the GUI 14 which includes a form into which theeyecare professional enters data for a prescription order. Additionally,the GUI 14 includes the frame trace display 15, created by the browsersoftware component 20 using the frame trace provided by the frame tracer11. When all data has been entered and the frame trace is successfullytransmitted to the GUI 14, the eyeglass order can be reviewed prior tosubmission. The order, comprising the entered data and the frame trace,is then sent as a single logical packet via the internet to a lensmanufacturing laboratory or a third party value-added service provider.

While there has been illustrated and described what is at presentconsidered to be the preferred embodiment of the present invention, itwill be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes andmodifications may be made and equivalents may be substituted forelements thereof without departing from the true scope of the invention.Therefore, it is intended that this invention not be limited to theparticular embodiment disclosed, but that the invention will include allembodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims.

1. A computer program product for processing prescription eyeglass orderdata, the product comprising computer readable program code devices for:a) receiving a frame trace from a frame tracer that is operablyconnected to a host computer; and b) embedding the frame trace into aprescription order.
 2. The computer program product of claim 1 whereinthe prescription order is sent to the order recipient via the internet.3. The computer program product of claim 1 further comprising computerreadable program code devices for: a) formatting the frame trace forhuman-readable display; and b) displaying the frame trace in an internetbrowser window.
 4. The computer program product of claim 3 wherein theframe trace is displayed in the internet browser window simultaneouslywith the prescription order into which the frame trace is embedded. 5.The computer program product of claim 1 wherein the frame tracer isconnected to the host computer at a peripheral port.
 6. The computerprogram product of claim 5 wherein the peripheral port is a serial port.7. The computer program product of claim 5 wherein the peripheral portis a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port.
 8. The computer program product ofclaim 5 wherein the peripheral port is an Ethernet port.
 9. The computerprogram product of claim 1 wherein the prescription order is submittedto a lens manufacturing laboratory through the internet.
 10. Thecomputer program product of claim 9 wherein the prescription order issubmitted as a single logical packet.
 11. A computer program product forprocessing eyeglass order data, the product comprising computer readableprogram code devices for: a) receiving a frame trace from a frame tracerconnected to a host computer; b) creating a graphical representation ofthe frame trace; c) embedding the formatted frame trace into aprescription order formatted for submission over the internet; and d)displaying the graphical representation of the frame trace in aninternet browser window simultaneously with the prescription order intowhich the frame trace is embedded.
 12. A method for processingprescription eyeglass order data, the method comprising: a) performing aframe trace on a frame tracer connected to a host computer; b)transmitting the frame trace to the host computer; c) receiving theframe trace from the frame tracer using a browser software component onthe host computer; d) embedding the frame trace into a prescriptionorder using the browser software component; and e) transmitting theprescription order to an order recipient via the internet.
 13. Themethod of claim 12 further comprising entering prescription data intothe prescription order.
 14. The method of claim 13 wherein enteringprescription data into the prescription order comprises typing theprescription data into a form displayed in an internet browser window.15. The method of claim 12 further comprising viewing a graphicalrepresentation of the frame trace, the graphical representation createdand displayed by the browser software component.
 16. The method of claim14 wherein the prescription order and the graphical representation ofthe frame trace are displayed in an internet browser window.